Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-14
sensational NIis.tatements.

be ready for delivery in few days
sensational Misstatements.
We are sorry to see that the Eram'
iner has gone head and ears into the
sensational business, and consequent
ly is rapidly losing its reputation for
relia bility. The most reprehensible
ard mendacious instance OF this new
departure of our contemporary ap-
peared in Saturdays issue OF that
paper. 1t is a wholly sensational,
and therefore intrepidly untruthful,
alta OK upon the city and the press OF
Los Angeles. The article is intro
duced to the reader by famingly
displayed heading in which 1.-The
yellow Flag" is conspicuous, and
proceeds to say that smallpox is play
ing sad havoc with our citizens and
visitors, and that not one-half OF the
cases are reported to the authorities.
II then accuses us of observing a dis
Greet silence about the "scourge, !"
no that our "real estate boom and
the smallpox strides on together"
After this daring stroke of invention,
it ch argos our people with deliberately
adopting secretive policy, and the
newspapers n OF Los Angeles with sup
pre- essing all Information on the sub
iect of the disease. This is too much.
II the editor of the Examiner bad
given the slightest attention to the
papers OF this city he would have
seen that instead OF suppressing the
facts they have been given daily ven
tilarion for over three weeks. Three
weeks ago yesterday the HERALD
published an elaborate editorial upon
the subject, and the result OF this
article was the introduction OF the
bill in the Legislature appropriating
IS, 600 afterwards, by pusillani-
m ,us pretense at economy, cut down
+, O,OOO) to enable the State Boa, d
o. Health to employ inspectors to
b ard the trains in Arizona and
prevent the introduction of further
cases of smallpox from Mexico
where the disease now here originally
c ,me from. From that time to the
present not day has passed in
which we have not given all the facts
attainable about the visitation. The
Health Officer has furnished daily
bulletins OF the cases, and all in
formation connected with them.
Whenever cases have been found in
the city, the houses have been tagged
and carefully quarantined. and all
who could be removed were sent to
the sm allpox hospital. So much Tor
the criminally false statement OF the
Eraminer about our assumed policy
of secrecy. The fact is, there never
has been any reason for serious alarm
about this outbreak of smallpox.
That the type of the disease is OF a
mild form is attested by the fact that
so far there have only been five
deaths from it altogether in the city
and county. The highest number
of cases at any time was thirty, and
altogether since the advent of the
disease there have only been forty
three cases. The panic which seized
visitors last week was not due to the
fayages Of the disease, but to gar
bled dispatch emanating from a
member of the State Board OF Health,
which was made to read that the
Board were about to quarantine
our city. Thereupon there was
rush among visitors to get away-not
so much perhaps because they dread
ed the disease, as that they had some
un defined idea that the State Board
W ould put a sanitary Gordon around
the city and thus compel them to
rem ain locked in here for the tradi-
tional forty days. OF course these
people never stopped to think that
the State Board had no authority to
shut in Los Angeles, and that even II
they had they lacked an army to make
the quarantine effective. The HERALD
has never denied the gravity OF the
nor attempted to do the
foolish and impossible. thing OF sup
pressing the facts. Indeed, we knew
hat to give the facts was really the
best po Icy; for the facts, in matters
Il this nature, never can be hall as
INJURIOUS as the exaggerations OF
rumor. And, after all, the facts bear
put what we have repeatedly asserted
in these columns, viz: that the infec-
lion is not OF character to cause any
poonat;on OF free intercourse with Los
angeles. There l5 not now, nor mas
flaere been from the start, any dan
~ that the disease would become
epidemic. The authorities have acted
with energy, and done all that could
- dome to coufine the disease within
fho narrowest limits. Vaccination
has been g general, and the climax was
reached last week. The physicians
who are keeping close watch Of the
infection are now OF the opinion that
tho upper hand Of it has been gained,
and that the new cases benceforth
win be veryfew. The Examiner owes
IL. N z. /. Z. * IL. h \ - 4 ~. a. 4 { Z.